Egao no Riyuu
by rennomiya
Summary: If it means that he can see her smile again, then he would do everything he can, even sacrifice another important thing he loves. He'll do anything to save her from that wicked guy. Because she was a person who had unknowingly made an impact in his life.
1. Chapter 1

**Egao no Riyuu**

By: rennomiya

Tomorrow is her birthday. Her 16th birthday to be exact.

Her lips curved into a sad smile.

This was going to be the last day of her freedom.

Nevertheless, she opened the door to her house with optimism. She smiled at the bright blue sky and the nice weather it brought. She practically skipped her way to school.

* * *

><p>Echizen Ryoma yawned sleepily as he tried to suppress his urge to sleep. It was lunchtime but unfortunately, his naptime would have to wait until Momo-senpai arrives in his classroom to deliver his lunch. His idiotic senpai had lost a bet to him yesterday and he promised to buy him lunch the next day. And so, he dully stared at his classroom door for a certain spiky haired senpai to come barging in with his lunch.<p>

After he waited for another five minutes that seemed three hours for him, his eyes involuntarily rolled towards his classmates who were eating their own lunches, doodling on their blackboard, or just simply chatting with each other. As he gazed down at each and one of them, his amber orbs stopped on a giggling pigtailed girl. She was talking with a bunch of their female classmates while eating her bento.

He observed her more. Her eyes were gleaming with delight. In fact, he had noticed, she looked overly happy since the day started. She was overly happy in a way that it looked like she was forcing herself to be so. And it appeared that none of the students in class 1-1 had noticed her odd mood. Not even her best friend who had known her since the beginning of time. He didn't know if she had a problem or she was truly happy. Well, if her best friend hadn't noticed her strange behavior, then it may mean that he was just being too observant or assuming. Maybe Ryuzaki was just genuinely happy that day.

Yes, that's right. Nothing's probably wrong with her. Maybe he was just too bored.

His train of thoughts was interrupted when the class's door slid opened. The other students present in the room all shot their heads towards that direction. There, standing on the doorframe with a bunch of different bread delights wrapped on his muscular arms, was none other than the person he had been waiting for three hou—five minutes, Momo-senpai. The idiot.

Momoshiro Takeshi panted heavily before he dragged his feet towards Ryoma's desk, where the prince was sitting. Momo lackadaisically dropped the packets of bread on his table and took another chair in front of his desk and positioned it across his table. He sat down informally and began opening one packet of yakisoba bread.

"Argh, the line in the cafeteria was as packed as ever," he complained lazily as he munched his bread.

Ryoma rolled his eyes and took one pack of curry bread and opened it. "You should've known that the cafeteria's crowded during lunchtime," he chewed on his bread, "You should've come earlier, baka."

Momo narrowed his brows. "Shut up brat! I've already bought you lunch so stop complaining!"

"Yeah, you bought me lunch. But you made me wait for three hours," shot back the underclassman with another bite from his curry bread that was already half-way finished.

Momo gulped down the last remains of his yakisoba bread and moved to take another one. "Three hours? It was only five minutes."

"It felt like three hours," Ryoma monotonously replied and took another packet.

"Just be thankful that I treated you, you ungrateful brat."

Before Ryoma could continue their usual verbal fights, a sweet and cheerful voice interrupted them. "Whoa, you've bought a lot of bread senpai." Her tone was full of innocence and enjoyment.

Ryoma and Momo looked at Ryuzaki Sakuno who was standing beside the table that separates the two of them. Momo grinned when he saw his favorite female kouhai. "Hi there, my cute and favorite kouhai!"

Ryoma glared at him for his lack of informality.

Sakuno smiled gleefully at him. "Hello to you too, my favorite senpai," she cheerfully greeted back.

Ryoma almost choked if not for his immediate response before his throat betrays him. He incredulously stared at Sakuno, unable to know how to react at her atypical gestures and words. She sounded so out of character! The clumsy Ryuuzaki he knew would never greet their senpai that way. What's next? Call Tezuka-buchou the most adorable senpai she has? If this was the customary girl, she would've blushed at senpai's remark and nod in a timid manner.

Momo and the other freshmen in the room didn't seem to notice her uncharacteristic behavior. Momo just grinned at her and patted her head like a loving big brother.

Ryoma unbelievably stared at his classmates and Sakuno. At first he thought that he was just being delusional that she was exaggeratingly happy since the start of the day because it looked as if he was the only one who had noticed, but now, he knows that he was not being delusional. Instead, it was everyone else who were being delusional. How could they not notice she was being weird?

Momo offered Sakuno a packet of bread, which she accepted without hesitation. On normal situations, she would refuse his offer shyly AND she wouldn't even be there talking to them.

"Thank you, senpai!" she stated and opened that packet of brownie. She ate it happily and even offered to share it with Ryoma and Momo.

Ryoma refused, mentally feeling uncomfortable with her displays of oddity. Momo, on the other hand, accepted her offer and pinched an appropriate amount of brownie from her hand.

Ryuzaki was really becoming strangely suspicious.

* * *

><p>Afternoon practice was over and it was time to go home. Ryoma was walking his way home alone, which was a rare thing since he mostly spends that time of the day with Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai eating burgers and tricking the latter to treat them since he was the oldest. Either that or engaging in a street tennis game with some random players in their usual street tennis courts.<p>

Ryoma heard his stomach grumble, obviously telling him that it was empty and needed refill. He mentally groaned. He didn't have the adequate amount of money to buy himself anything. He had brought just enough money for a transportation ticket, and nothing else.

Ugh.

If only Momo-senpai didn't have to go on a date with the short-haired girl from Fudomine and if only his other senpais weren't too meddlesome to spy on the Dunk Smash expert's date. Then, he would've leeched some money from any of them for some food before going home.

He should've just spied with them so that he could get free food.

"Ryoma-kun!"

He heard a distant yet familiar voice calling his name from behind. He stopped and slightly turned his head around. He found himself looking at a female figure running towards him joyfully while waving an excited arm around. She stopped when she was close enough to him and smiled cheerfully. "I never expected to see you here! Usually, you hang out with the other regulars at this time!"

Ryoma continued on staring silently at her.

"It's kinda weird but I guess it's a good turn of events! I mean, this is a rare moment! The last time we bumped into each other like this was the time when you first got your tennis regular's jersey three years ago. Do you remember?" she happily exclaimed, still with the same excessive delight coming from her.

Ryoma nodded a little and remained silent. She didn't stutter even once during her monologue.

"Wow! Can you believe it? It had already been three years since we first met! And who would've thought we'd be classmates here in Seishun High School! Anyway, I'm really glad that you and the old tennis team regulars are back for more action!" she punched the air excitedly, "That was the best High School Nationals I have ever watched! Everyone had gotten extremely better! And can you imagine? We're turning sophomores in the next two months! I feel exci—"

_GRUMBLE_

She stopped talking when she heard her companion's stomach. The two were silent at first but after that, the girl immediately went into a fits of laughter.

Ryoma glared at her and her weirdness. Damn her strangeness. He lowered the brim of his cap as he tried to hide the embarrassment caused by his stomach. Damn his hungry stomach. "Shut up."

Sakuno's laughter faded, much to his relief. She wiped some tears that formed on her eyes due to laughing. She gradually straightened up and smiled at him with that weird smile of hers. "I can _hear _that you're hungry," she held back a laugh.

He glared at her again. He turned to walk away. "None of your business."

"Hey wait," she called as she skipped towards his side, "I know of a great place that sells good ramen. Have you tasted one before?"

Ryoma's brows narrowed. "Of course I know what ramen tastes like. I'm not an idiot."

She smiled. "Oh, I'm not implying that you're an idiot. I just thought that you haven't eaten one since you were born in America."

She was telling him what she wants to and what she thinks. This Ryuzaki was really starting to bother him. "I've been here for three years," he understatedly said.

She let out a cheeky smile. "Oh, but have you tasted the best ramen in the world?"

She was telling him that she's knows a place where they sell the best ramen in the world. He smirked at her and told her in a challenging way, "What if the ramen there isn't as good as you claim to be? What will I do to you?"

Her eyes looked at him with confusion at first before she understood and smiled sweetly. "I'll transfer to another school."

If that was the case, then he inwardly wished that the ramen place she mentioned really sells good-tasting ramen. Then again, it was just their normal playful bets. It wasn't like she was really going away.

He smirked. "Okay. Take me there. But it's your treat." He didn't have money anyway. So screw the ungentlemanly way he was acting. He'll just make it up to her discreetly some other time.

Sakuno beamed happily and grabbed his hand. She began running blissfully running towards wherever that noodle shop was, dragging Ryoma with her, unaware of her bold move.

Ryoma decided to ignore her exaggerated happiness for a while.

* * *

><p>Surprisingly, she didn't get lost.<p>

They arrived in front of a shop that looked similar with Kawamura-senpai's sushi shop, except it was named 'Sakata Noodles' instead of 'Kawamura Sushi'. Sakuno smiled at him without letting go of his hand. "Sakata-san is one of grandma's friends. We used to go here for ramen when I was little. They also sell some sushi here," she raised a free forefinger up to her lips and said in a whisper-like tone, "But not as good as Kawamura-senpai's, but that's only our secret."

She was really being out of character especially after she winked at him as she whispered the last words at him. He just nodded slightly.

"Let's go," she cheerfully said and slid the paper doors open.

"Welcome!" shouted whoever the person was inside.

"Hello there, Sakata-jii-san!" Sakuno greeted with a huge smile. She let go of Ryoma's hand to shake her hands with the middle-aged owner of the shop, Sakata Junichi.

Sakata-san's pair of eyes was suddenly filled with a mix of nostalgia and enchantment as he saw and recognized his good friend, Sumire's, granddaughter, Sakuno. He shook her hand with a toothy grin as he greeted the young Ryuzaki. "It's been a while since I last saw you, Sakuno-chan! How's your grandma these days? Still strong and stubborn I suppose?"

Sakuno giggled. "Yes, she's still strong… and no denial, stubborn," she said as Sakata led her towards the counter and offered her a seat.

It was only when Ryoma cleared his throat did the two finally remembered him.

"Oh, Sakata-jii-san, this is one of grandma's tennis students, Echizen Ryoma," she introduced as she stood up and held an introducing arm pointing to Ryoma. "Ryoma-kun, this is one of grandma's best friends, Sakata Junichi-san."

Ryoma put a hand on the brim of his cap and bowed his head a little. "Uissu," he greeted.

He sweatdropped when he noticed that the eldest man in the group was staring at him intently. He avoided his old and wrinkled eyes awkwardly and decided to be interested in the flourished floors instead.

Sakuno let out a forced smile when she saw how closely Sakata-san observes Ryoma. She laughed halfheartedly to gain Sakata's attention and to save Ryoma from his awkward position. "What's the matter, jii-chan?"

Sakata puts his forefinger and thumb under his chin in a thoughtful manner. "If this is Sumire's student, then it means that you two are schoolmates…" he deduced.

Sakuno nodded. "Yes, in fact, he's my classmate."

Her intention of making Sakata stop looking at Ryoma intently was turned around when the old man glared at Ryoma instead. "He's your classmate huh," he knowingly said, mentally sending Ryoma some warnings. The tennis prince just avoided his eyes even more, quite confused as to why the old man was being too intent with him.

Then, Sakata turned his heels around and walked back behind the counter. "Anyway Sakuno-chan, what will you have?"

Sakuno sighed in relief after the old man's intense look with Ryoma finally ceased. She sat down on the chair the owner offered and gestured Ryoma to sit next to her. Ryoma uncomfortably sat down next to her, avoiding Sakata's general direction.

Sakuno turned her head to Sakata with a happy smile. "Two orders of your special ramen please!"

Sakata shouted a cheerful "HAIIIIII!" before he turned to do the two's ramen. "You don't have to pay for your meal, Sakuno-chan. It's on the house!" he said while preparing their ramen. "But the boy's got to pay though," he added with a glint in his eyes as he looked at Ryoma, who gulped nervously and pretended to look somewhere else. "He's going to pay double for his meal," he added.

"Well that's all right," Sakuno said, "I'm treating him. So if you give my share of meal for free but want Ryoma-kun to pay double for his meal, then it's the same. I'm still going to pay for two bills."

Sakata stared at her disbelievingly. Then he glared at Ryoma, who looked as if he found the door of his shop interesting. "How could you let a girl buy you food? Don't you have shame, boy?"

Sakuno was about to defend her classmate when the door shot open again. "Tadaima…" the person in the door said uninterestedly. She smiled when she recognized who the person was. "Ah! Kei-chan!"

The newly-arrived boy raised his head slightly to look at the person who called his name. He grinned as he identified who that person was. "Sakuno-chan!" he called and excitingly rushed towards her. "You haven't been here for a while!"

She gave him a nice smile. "Yes, it's been a while, Kei-chan!"

She noticed Ryoma's look and she immediately introduced Kei to him. "Ryoma-kun, this is Sakata Keitaro. He's the owner's son. We used to play together as children," then she turned to Kei, "Kei-chan, this is Ryoma-kun, a classmate."

Ryoma didn't know if he needs to be polite with this boy or not, seeing that he was close with Ryuzaki. He just 'hn-ed' at him.

Kei looked at him. He observed him from head to toe, just like what his father did a few minutes ago, much to Ryoma's dismay (again).

"Ryoma…" Kei's brows narrowed as he took the tennis prince's appearance once more. Then he sulked in a corner. "He's too good-looking… I lost…" he said dejectedly.

Ryoma confusedly looked at him. What was he talking about?

His gaze towards the sulking Kei in a corner was disrupted when the owner dropped a bowl of ramen in front of him in an angry manner. "Order's up," he said as a vein was twitching on his forehead.

"Ah… thanks…" he mumbled, ignoring Junichi's intense glare at him, and split his chopsticks in half.

Meanwhile, Junichi-jii-san dropped Sakuno's bowl of ramen gently in front of her while giving her a nice smile. "Order's up Sakuno-chan!"

He inwardly glared at the Sakata father-and-son duo. They were too biased, he thought. He concluded that the two had formed a nice relationship with the Ryuzakis for them to act that coldly towards him.

"What's wrong Kei-chan?" Sakuno worriedly asked after she muttered her thanks to Junichi for the ramen. "What do you mean you lost?"

Kei stood up with his shoulders drooped. He weakly approached Sakuno with a depressed aura and said, "Why'd you have to have such a good-looking boyfriend? Why can't it be me?"

Ryoma would have spitted out his ramen if he still hadn't put some in his mouth. They thought that he and Ryuzaki were going out!

He expected Sakuno to blush and stutter in front of them as she tries to deny their indictment. So, he was secretly surprised when she did neither. She, instead, laughed at their accusation and explained to them that they were not in that kind of relationship.

The Sakata duo sighed in relief upon hearing so, which made Ryoma irritated at them.

After clearing the misunderstandings, Sakuno proceeded on splitting her chopsticks in half and taking a fishcake to taste it. She munched at it as she let nostalgia fill her senses. The Sakatas' ramen still hasn't changed taste. It was reminiscing having to taste the same flavor she used to love when she was little. She was glad the taste didn't change. She looked at the father and smiled. "It's still good as always."

The father-son duo smiled back.

She turned to her right to look at Ryoma who was slurping his noodles. She looked at him expectantly, remembering their bet. "So, how was it?"

Ryoma actually liked the taste and she proved her words when she told him about this place earlier. But since he never actually complimented anyone ever in his life, he just merely stated, in what she believed to be his own way of complimenting, "Edible enough."

She smiled, knowing what he meant by those while Sakata Junichi and Kei glared at him. "That's his way of complimenting, don't worry," she reassured.

The Sakatas could not do anything but believe her.

After another fifteen minutes, the two was finally finished eating. Ryoma had filled his empty stomach, and Sakuno contently stared at his empty bowl. She took out her wallet from her pocket and dropped some bills on the counter. "Here's our pay, jii-san!"

Kei looked at Sakuno, then to her bills, then to her wallet, and finally to Ryoma. "You're not treating her?" he hissed.

Ryoma simply avoided his gaze, which is turning out to be his approaching habit towards the Sakatas.

Junichi turned down her payment as he shook his head. "It's okay Sakuno-chan. It's on the house." He took the bills and shoved it to Sakuno.

"Eh? But you said that Ryoma-kun has to pay double for his meal," she whined as she tried to force back the bills to the owner.

Junichi looked at Sakuno, then to Ryoma and finally to his son, Kei. He sighed in defeat. "Why do you look better with Ryoma than with my son?" he said sadly after he compared how Sakuno would look like with Ryoma and how she would look like with Kei. And much to his dismay, Sakuno looked good with Ryoma rather than his son.

Sakuno confusedly look at him while Kei blushed and yelled at his father. "Stop embarrassing me!"

Ryoma sighed.

Then he smirked.

At least Ryuzaki had nice friends outside of school. Well, at least if they weren't too obsessed with her.

* * *

><p>"Our family actually has a lot of other family friends other than the Sakatas," Sakuno, once more, happily stated as she basically skipped on the sidewalk with him. The sun was no longer visible as the stars and moon found their way on the dark skies. The only lights that supplied the city were coming from streetlights and posts that lined up straightly into the distance.<p>

It actually looked like a bunch of fireflies from afar. Especially if the lights from the buildings and shops and some cars passing by around them were added to the scenery.

It was a nice view, Ryoma thought as he listened to her ramblings.

And a nice scene.

"My grandma has a lot of friends, and because of her, I get to be friends with them as well! I'm really happy that she's my grandma! Oh, I'm really happy for my mom and dad too! They are pretty nice…"

The two kept on walking. The other one was talking one-sidedly while the other one was attentively listening. It was until they had to separate ways that he had to speak.

"This is my turn, Ryoma-kun," she said, "I'm glad that I get to spend after-class with you! It's a pretty rare thing that I almost could still not believe it!" She gave him another big smile and gestured to turn around and walk away.

"Wait," he said. He remembered about his thoughts and observations that she was being odd today among all days he knew her. He decided to tell her about it before she goes away. "You're too strangely happy today. Unlike the usual Ryuzaki."

Sakuno stopped on her tracks. Her mouth faintly opened with slight surprise about his statement. Then, her lips closed to form a thin straight line. She turned around to face him with a genuine smile. One that was just right and real unlike her smiles the whole day.

"Wow…" she said gently, "I never thought you of all people would see that."

Ryoma raised a confused brow.

She chuckled; again, it was real and just right. "I mean… even Tomo-chan didn't notice. Not even the Sakatas that know me since I was small. I thought I could get away with it." She looked at the skies sadly. Her eyes softened into a regretful one.

"What do you mean?" He really didn't know what she was talking about. Maybe she really has a problem but doesn't want to show it to anyone.

"I'm… engaged," she explained.

Ryoma's eyes widened for a fraction. But it was as fast as it came. He turned his back on her and lowered the brim of his cap to hide any expression he had from her. He did not see that one coming. Of all the reasons she can tell him, why was it that one?

She smiled weakly. "I know it's kind of fictional and it only happens in primetime dramas but it's true. I told you that we have a lot of family friends. One of them was running an affluent business. The owner is good friends with my dad. And even before I was born or even existed, they already planned my engagement with the owner's son. It's to strengthen our families' bonds. Dad said that my fiancé was nice and brought up well."

He continued on listening.

"Kei-chan knows him too… but I actually had never met my fiancé before," she added. Inwardly, she didn't know why she was telling him the whole story. But at the back of her mind, she knows that Ryoma would want to hear it in full details. Though she had no idea why. Maybe it was just her imagination.

"You don't know him but you're marrying him someday," Ryoma said in a cold, monotonous way. He didn't know why but his chest suddenly felt uneasy.

Sakuno nodded softly.

"Tell your dad that you don't like that arrangement," he said in another cold, demanding tone. Actually, it was him who wanted to tell her dad about his dislike about that stupid arrangement. Who in the world still gets arranged marriages nowadays?

"My dad said that I'll fall in love with him anyway. They've already decided," she said forlornly, and then she looked up to the back of his head and smiled, "And besides, I'm doing this for my family. And my fiancé's family also expects a lot from me. They believed that I can bring honor to their family's name."

Ryoma involuntarily gritted his teeth. "So you accepted?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes. In fact, I'm meeting him tomorrow."

Ryoma clenched his fists.

The once perfect scenery became dull as Ryoma tried to let everything sink in.

Ryuzaki was taken.

To be continued.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm desperately trying to get my writing skills to improve. And yes, it was a bit clichéd (no, actually, it was _really _cliché) but I hope you take some time to read and criticize my version of a plot like this. And I don't think the Sakatas will appear again. Leave a review ^^ Egao no Riyuu means 'the reason for a smile'.

Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi.


	2. Chapter 2

His pair of amber eyes stared emotionlessly at the slowly drifting clouds above him. He had mentally noted that the skies were too blue today; the same as how Ryuzaki was too happy since yesterday.

He had been lazily lying on the rooftop floor since lunch break started. He had his arms folded behind his head as his pillow to make himself more comfortable in his position in the cold, tiled floor. He didn't feel hungry nor in the mood to play tennis. Instead, he wanted to just lie there and stare at nothingness until lunch was over. He was really bothered by the news that Ryuzaki told him last night.

It was unexpected, really. Very much unexpected that he wanted to just think of it as a dream even though he knew fully well otherwise. He sighed as he remembered her reaction when she told him; neutral.

His eyes narrowed. Slight irritation flickered in his amber orbs when a vivid flashback of how she broke the news to him last night entered his hazy mind.

She was engaged. This meant that the person she'll marry was already decided. And the person she'll marry was someone she never met before.

He didn't know what irked him more. The fact that she was going to marry someone OR the other fact that she was going to marry someone. Either way, it was the same. And it annoyed him to no end.

He wanted to imagine what that other boy looks like, but he just can't bring himself to picture a full figure in his mind that doesn't end up with his own face.

He quickly sat up and shook his head when he thought that he wanted to be Ryuzaki's future husband. Yeah, like that would ever happen. He doesn't like her that way and so does she. They were just friends, nothing more. He was just concerned about her because she happened to be the only girl that treats him normally; unlike his crazed fangirls. He just thought that a girl like her doesn't deserve that kind of future.

Then, the door flew open and he turned his head to look at the intruder. Oh great. Just the right person he needed at the moment. Ms. Wobbly Hips.

She was carrying two bentos as she dragged her feet in the middle of the rooftop where he was sitting. She gave him a big smile and sat next to him. Ryoma stared at her with unreadable eyes as if trying to decipher the meaning of her actions. She merely gave him another big smile and gently dropped one of the two bentos in front of him. "I made you lunch," she revealed.

Ryoma looked at the bento she placed in front of him before she began opening hers. His eyes rolled towards her direction again and asked, "Why?"

He could see that she slightly pouted. She answered him after splitting her chopsticks in half, "It's my compensation."

Ryoma imitated her movements and opened his own bento. He took the pair of chopsticks she gave him and began eating. "Compensation for what?" he asked after he swallowed a tamago.

"For not telling anyone about my engagement," she answered as she looks at the blue skies, her chopsticks pointing at her lower lip.

Ryoma paused from eating. As far as he knew, he was the only one, save her family, that knows about her arranged marriage with a guy named Hirano Naoki. And she made him promise last night not to tell it to anyone. He agreed. Because she should've known that he had no intention of telling it to anyone even if she didn't ask him. He was not Horio after all. "When are you going to tell the others?"

She sadly lowered her chopsticks and stared at the contents of her bento. "I… It's kind of hard for me to tell anyone, especially Tomo-chan. In fact, I really wanted to tell Tomo-chan about it at first but I ended up telling it to you instead. I'm sorry. I didn't know what happened to me last night. I shouldn't have bothered you with my problems…"

Ryoma looked away. "No. I'd rather you have told me."

She looked at him confusedly. "Why?"

Why? Because he felt that he was special that she told him something she couldn't even tell Osakada. "That way, you could relieve your stress. Stress is a huge obstacle in tennis."

Sakuno dropped her head. Of course everything's tennis with him. But she smiled nonetheless. "Thanks for listening to me anyway."

"Hn."

The two continued on eating in silence until Ryoma broke it. "Oh, and… stop acting _too _cheerful around people," he said. He hated it when she acts overly happy about simple things, when with her usual self, she will just smile shyly.

She shook her head. She explained to him, "This is our last three years in high school. After this, we'll all go to college and head our separate ways. And as soon as high school's finished, so does Ryuzaki Sakuno…"

Ryoma's fingers twitched as if he was inwardly surprised at the news again. "What do you mean?" he asked with a straight face after he finished eating the bento she made him.

"After high school, I'd be living with Hirano-san, going to the same University as him, and practicing how to be a perfect girl for him," she replied when she avoided his piercing amber eyes.

Ryoma remained stoic and pushed the empty bento towards her.

"That's why I wanted to make most of my last days with my friends here in Seigaku," her eyes were soft and had hinted purity and innocence in it, "I love everyone. And I wanted to be happy for them. This is also another reason why I don't want them to know about my engagement. For sure, everyone's going to worry about me. That's the last thing I want to happen."

Ryoma stood up, prepared to leave. He headed towards the door after mumbling, "Still, when you're around _me, _you _better _act like your _real _self."

She stared at him with wide eyes as she watched him close the door behind him. Her cheeks reddened and she raised a hand up to her chest.

* * *

><p>The classes just announced its dismissal time, alerting the students that it was time to go back to their own homes or attend their afternoon club activities. Once again, his pair of amber eyes followed the movements of one familiar girl he had an odd encounter with yesterday. She was arranging her things with a bright smile—a bright smile he didn't like for it was hiding what she was truly feeling; sadness.<p>

She bid a cheerful farewell to everyone still present in the class before opening the sliding door of their room. However, she was stopped when her best friend, Osakada, called her from a distance, asking her why she was in so much hurry to go home.

Expecting that she wouldn't want to tell anyone, not even her best friend, the truth about her engagement, he fixed the strap of his tennis bag over his shoulders and anticipated a poorly-made lie that would soon come out of her mouth as an explanation to why she was in a hurry.

"I'm meeting someone important today," Ryuzaki replied with a gentle smile directed to Osakada.

Well, technically she didn't lie.

Osakada seemed convinced with Ryuzaki's excuse and so she grinned at her auburn-head friend and waved a cheerful arm up for a farewell, looking as if she understood that her friend doesn't want to elaborate who that person is. Ryuzaki nodded with a smile and left the room as soon as she closed the door behind her.

Ryoma's pair of amber eyes narrowed. He walked over to the window of his room where he had a full view of the school gates. He waited until he could spot her running outside the building and into the gates.

Today was her birthday; he had learned that because of their classmates' greetings to her throughout the day. He actually had no idea about the day of her birth until today, but that was only because he didn't bother on asking her about it for three years they had known each other. He didn't know why, maybe because he just thought that it was unimportant if he knows her birthday or not.

But right now, he didn't enjoy the idea of knowing that today celebrates her birth since he knew that it's also the same fateful day that she would meet a guy she was going to marry someday. He didn't even bother on greeting her earlier when they ate their lunches together.

At last, he had caught the sight of her small frame running from the building to the school gates. His line of vision from his classroom window could only see her auburn hair, but as she was nearing the school gates and becoming farther away from his view, he was able to see her body from semi-top view.

He continued on staring at her as she gradually became smaller until she was completely out of sight when she turned into a corner.

His amber eyes flickered with frustration, knowing that he was the only one inside class 1-1 that knows about what was really going on in Ryuzaki's life. Their other classmates and friends were left oblivious as per Ryuzaki's request of keeping it a secret from them.

He grunted annoyingly at the thought and told himself to stop thinking about her and her problems. It was evidently none of his business. He grabbed his tennis bag that was lying on his desk and proceeded home. They didn't have tennis practice that day because the seniors were busy with their college entrance exams. And so, after refusing an invitation from Momo to come play tennis with him at the street tennis courts, he left the school grounds.

He stared straight ahead as he was walking home, but his mind wasn't focused on his surroundings. Instead, he was pondering on his thoughts.

Since last night, after she told him everything, he felt something alien building up inside him. He felt that he was being too concerned about her more than before. He felt that his chest was throbbing for some unknown reason. What he was sure of, was that he would only feel those whenever he thinks of her.

He wondered if he should've asked where she was going to meet her fiancé. Then again, who was he to ask something personal like that? They were only friends, acquaintances even. He didn't have the right to meddle with her personal life.

But…

He really wanted to know what was happening.

He stopped walking when he sighted the familiar view of his residence. He scratched his head in annoyance. He told himself that he would stop thinking about her, but he apparently failed—seeing that he had been lost in his own thoughts and not even able to notice that he was almost home. Heck, his feet just dragged him there, without him even thinking where he was going. Good thing he didn't end up in a random place.

He irritatingly opened the door to his house and muttered a barely audible, "Tadaima," hoping that no one would hear. Especially his damn old man.

But his hopes died when the first thing that greeted him was his Oyaji's annoying face. A cunning grin was plastered on his ugly face; mentally sending him signals that his father was ready to irritate him again.

"How's your day _Ryoma-kun_?" Nanjiroh imitated a certain wobbly girl's voice to aggravate him.

Ryoma merely glared at him and walked past him to his bedroom.

Nanjiroh was slightly taken aback by his son's freakier-than-before warning glares. He can irritate his son to no end, but when Ryoma's amber eyes glared at him that way, he figured that he really had a bad day and should stop pestering him… for now. "Oi brat," he called once more before Ryoma could close the door to his room.

"I've no time for your stupidity," Ryoma yelled back inside his room, his door still opened.

Ignoring Ryoma's rude comment, he said, "Ryoga said that you should be _there _by seven tonight!"

Ryoma, who was on the middle of changing his school uniform into his casual clothes, stopped when he heard what his Oyaji said. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Nanjiroh groaned annoyingly at his son's stupidity. "Have you forgotten already? Geez, you're turning older than I am!" he commented as he climbed the stairs to reach to his son's room.

"Shut the fuck up. Just tell me what the freaking hell's going on," Ryoma said as he finished buttoning his polo shirt.

"What a rude brat!" Nanjiroh yelled as he arrived in front of Ryoma's room. "Watch your mouth. Remember I'm the one giving you allowance."

Ryoma glared at him as he arrived in front of his door. He decided not to talk back anymore for that would indeed threaten his daily allowance.

"Ryoga wanted you to meet him at the Yunokawa Assembly Hall. He already told you that last night, have you really forgotten?" Nanjiroh said as he stuck out a cigarette stick on his mouth.

Ryoma recalled what happened last night on his home. From what he remembered, he was too preoccupied by the news Sakuno conveyed him and so he didn't really pay that much attention to what was happening inside his house. He did remember Ryoga telling the whole family about something, but that time, he didn't care.

"What am I supposed to do there?" he asked.

Nanjiroh gritted his teeth annoyingly. He lit up a lighter for his cigarette and replied, "Ryoga's soon-to-be wife wanted to meet you since she's a fan of high school tennis tournaments. She had watched some games of Seigaku and she was one of your fans."

Ryoma rolled his eyes. "Then tell her I can't make it."

"Tsk, tsk. Can't. She bothered on coming here from Hokkaido just to meet you. Poor girl. And your brother would hate you if you stood his girlfriend up," Nanjiroh said as he began descending the stairs.

Ryoma glared at him.

"Besides," Nanjiroh added before he disappeared in a corner, "Maybe that would be a good way to distract you from your problems, whatever that is." His tone hinted that he knew that Ryoma was indeed thinking about something serious.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes.

"Baka."

* * *

><p>He arrived at the assembly place, just like his father told him. He peeked at his phone's digital clock to check the time. He was fifteen minutes late, but whatever. He doesn't care.<p>

He only came here just so to distract himself from thinking about her and her stupid unwanted marriage.

With a guy she had never met before.

ARGH!

Stupid girl!

Shrugging the insignificant thoughts aside, he entered the place. It was a Japanese-architecture-styled place that mainly served as a convenient place for reunions or get-together and was highly known for its given privacy for the clients or customers. There are several rooms inside that place that makes it look like a hotel.

He looked at the paper given to him by Nanako. There was something scribbled on it and it read: room 120. That was the room number he was supposed to go to. Where he assumed he'll meet Ryoga and his future onee-chan.

He walked down the hall as he looked at the rooms one by one, seeing that he was on the right track.

115… 116…

He continued on letting himself be guided by other room numbers.

…117…

"_Yes, it's nice to meet you too."_

He stopped immediately as he heard that awfully familiar voice.

He gazed at the door that had a sign that read 117. The Japanese-style paper door was slightly opened and he could hear clearly what was going on.

"_You look better in person than in pictures, Sakuno."_

A deep, male's voice said from inside.

So his assumptions were correct. That voice belonged to Sakuno and the other one was probably her _stupid fiancé._

Forgetting the real reason why he was there, he curiously yet cautiously took a peek through the crack in the door. He was able to see both of them through one eye but he needed to shift positions in order to see the boy or the girl.

Oh hell. He was turning into his busybody senpais. Crap. Oh well.

* * *

><p>After school hours, she directly went to the Yunokawa Assembly Hall where she was going to meet Hirano Naoki. When she arrived there, her grandmother (since tennis practice was cancelled for the day) and mother were already there. They were going to make her wear something formal, tie her hair, and apply slight make-up on her face.<p>

They said she was going to meet Hirano soon and her mother seemed excited about it. Sumire didn't comment on the happenings, on the other hand. She smiled as she watched how happy her mother was for her. And after helping her in fixing her looks, Sumire and her mother, Sanako, seemed contented with their work.

She was wearing a light pink kimono with sakura petals design randomly on the bottom part. The hems of her sleeves were also covered with the same design. A dark red obi was tied around her waist. Her hair was tied in a messy, yet stylish bun, where some strands of hair were falling on her face. All in all, she looked like a doll. They had never seen her look like that before.

Sanako and Sumire guided Sakuno inside room 117 where she was supposed to meet her fiancé. There was a kotatsu in the middle of the traditional Japanese-designed interior. She sat on a cushion and positioned herself to a comfortable posture.

She didn't have to wait for so long. _He _arrived not a minute later.

She smiled when she first saw him. He had silver hair and dazzling blue eyes. He looked like a prince and the way he moved was graceful too. He really was brought up well, considering that he had grown up from a rich family.

He sat across her, with the kotatsu in between them. He leaned forward a bit to shake her hand. She gently shook his hand, which she noted wasn't as callused as Ryoma's hand. Then again, Hirano probably had never worked a day in his life. He had maids to do that for him. The only thing he needed to do was to succeed his father's company.

"It's nice to meet you, Sakuno," he said—his voice was deep yet very gentle.

She nodded with a faint blush. "Yes, it's nice to meet you too," she replied, making sure that her posture and the way she said it was equally graceful.

"You look better in person than in pictures, Sakuno," he complimented.

Sakuno smiled. "Thank you, Hirano-kun."

Hirano raised a hand up and shook it sideways. "Oh please, don't be too formal. You can call me Naoki. I _am _your future husband after all," he said with a soft smile.

Sakuno giggled a bit, but made sure it wasn't too casual. She nodded her head after. "You're right. I'm sorry. I should call you Naoki."

Hirano seemed satisfied and so he said, "Anyway, this is our first meeting. But let me tell you, I really don't regret having you as my future wife. You are one truly amazing girl."

Sakuno tilted her head in confusion.

And seeing her questioning eyes, he continued, "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. What I meant was I've read your description from father's notes. I heard that you were a great cook, a talented tennis player and a good singer."

Sakuno was a bit flattered by what he said. Her cheeks reddened, feeling a bit embarrassed since she didn't actually take a peek of Hirano's description that her dad gave her. So she doesn't know what to say to him.

Hirano sensed her uneasiness, which he found cute. He was starting to like this Sakuno-girl even more. He stood up from his position and sat next to her. He held her shoulder comfortingly. "You don't have to be shy. There's only the two of us," he reassured as he gave her a gentle smile.

Sakuno felt uncomfortable with their close distance and his hand on her shoulder. But she knew she shouldn't be. They were probably going to do more than that when they get older.

"Anyway," Hirano said in a whisper as he leaned his face closer to her, "I heard it's your birthday today."

She felt his breath brush on her cheek, which caused her face to redden even more. She nodded shyly.

Hirano smiled. He raised a forefinger up and gently traced the lines of her cheeks lovingly. "Happy birthday," he greeted.

"T-Thank you…"

"I guess I'm three weeks older than you," he said.

She slowly turned her head to his direction and directly met his blue eyes. Three weeks… that would the 24th of December. That means… he had the same birthday as Ryoma!

"Oh I see," she said with a pretend smile, "that's interesting."

Hirano smirked. "_You're _interesting," he whispered.

She blushed once more, feeling utterly uncomfortable with the way he's acting intimate with her even though they just met not ten minutes ago. Then, she reminded herself that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing since he was technically her boyfriend.

"W-What do you mean by that?" she asked, still conscious by his touches.

"Tell me something about yourself, please." He requested.

Sakuno turned her head away. She noticed from the corner of her eye that the door of their room was slightly opened. She shrugged the thoughts off and answered him, "I'm studying in Seigaku High," she said cheerfully yet awkwardly, "And as you've known, I play tennis. I have a lot of friends from that school and they are all very nice to me," her eyes softened as the faces of everyone from Seigaku entered her mind, "And since I play tennis, most of my friends are from the tennis club. I'm a bit close with the boys' tennis club too. In fact, I'm classmates with one of them."

"Hmm… I see…" Hirano suddenly said as he gently touched her pink lips with his thumb.

Sakuno felt her heart beat faster as she tried to hide the discomfited feeling she had. Hirano was really acting very close with her. As if they knew each other for years already! Oh how she wished he'd give her some privacy! Or personal space. Personal space would be nice…

"Sakuno…" he gently said her name, which send shivers inside of her, "Can I request something from you?" he asked as if acting like he was introverted in doing so.

"S-Sure. W-What is it?"

Hirano began explaining. "Anou… Actually… I really don't like tennis. In fact, I hate it. Can you please quit the tennis club and playing tennis for good?"

Her eyes widened. She clenched her fist tightly. Drawing in the feelings she had inside, she turned to him with a cheerful smile. "Of course," she said without second thoughts, "If that's what you want, Naoki, I'd be happy to quit tennis for you."

Hirano smiled. "Really? I'm glad!"

"I'll…" she turned her head away again to hide the emotions in her face, "… I'll do anything you want, Naoki."

Hirano smirked. "Really? Wow, I'm honored." His eyes suddenly glinted with evilness. "Nee Sakuno, will you really do anything for me?"

She nodded without looking at him.

"Why?"

Sakuno opened her mouth. "Because I love you," she replied as she stared straight into his eyes.

Hirano grinned. "Me too. I love you, very much."

Now, she was sure that both of them were lying. How could they love each other if this was the first time they met? But she had to do this for the Ryuzakis and the Hiranos. Who knows? Maybe someday she'll actually fall in love with him and forget about a certain green-haired tennis genius.

"I know that you love tennis, but I'm actually surprised that you complied with my request of quitting. It _must _mean that you really love me," Hirano said once more, "Hmm… how can I prove myself then?"

She shook her head. "You don't have to. I believe you." She lied.

"But I want to prove it to you," he said again. "Oh I know!"

He suddenly crashed his lips to hers. He gave her a passionate kiss.

On the back of her head, she was crying. This was her first kiss. But she knew it was going to end up like this. Ever since her dad told her about her engagement with someone when she was little, she already knew that she had no right to fall in love with someone else. But it was truly painful.

Then, they both heard something solid hit the door of the room.

Hirano broke the kiss and stared at the suspicious door. He noticed that it was slightly opened. He turned to Sakuno with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I haven't closed the door entirely. Sadly, the noise outside ruined our moment."

Inwardly, she was thankful it was over.

"It's okay," she comforted.

"Anyway, let me get your number. So I can contact you everyday, if you don't mind," he said.

She shook her head. "No, I don't mind."

* * *

><p>Ryoma went home that night feeling utterly provoked.<p>

He closed the door to his room with a loud bang. His eyes scanned the darkness of his room, but his mind cannot register anything but what he witnessed earlier.

He punched the door to somehow ease his anger, ignoring the pain in his knuckles. Then, feeling that his anger has still not subsided, he stomped into his desk and threw everything his eyes laid on to the floor. He ignored the clutter it made on the floor. He slammed his fist on his headboard several times before finally calming down.

He sat down on his bed and replayed the scene he had seen over and over his head again.

That Hirano guy acted as if he were Ryuzaki's boyfriend already. How dare he touch her like that? How dare he make her quit tennis? How dare he kiss her like that?

He balled his fist tighter, making his nails dig into his palm.

But most of all…

Why didn't she do anything about it?

"Ryuzaki…" he mumbled.

He didn't even know why he was so affected and why he was acting this way. He didn't like it. He didn't like any of this. Back then, he wanted to enter that room and punch that Hirano straight into his face. It was irritating!

And why did she even comply with what he said? And why did she even say she loves him when obviously, she does not?

His heart suddenly felt heavy. His breathing suddenly stopped.

"_Because I love you."_ Her voice echoed in his head.

Those words that were directed to Hirano sounded like a big fat lie. And the kiss they shared looked as if it was only obligatory. But still… he didn't like it. He HATED it. He despised it.

He gritted his teeth.

And he shouldn't care either. Because it was none of his business. Why was it affecting him so much anyway? Was it because he already knew Ryuzaki for a long time and he didn't want to see her that way?

It's not fair.

She doesn't deserve that.

To be continued.

* * *

><p>AN: Wow. I updated... SURPRISE! Lol XD Don't expect faster updates though... D:

This is OOC. AU. Crack. RyoSaku-centric. Forgot to mention that in the first chapter. Thank you for reading :) BTW, I think Hirano is a pretty nice name… whaddya think?

Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi.


	3. Chapter 3

The news broke down the next day. It was official.

Ryuzaki Sakuno, the granddaughter of the legendary tennis team coach, friend of the tennis prince Echizen Ryoma, and one of Seigaku's prominent female tennis players… had quit tennis. For good.

It was the whole school's talk about a minute after Sakuno talked to her captain and the female club's coach. Apparently, a fellow club member heard it during their morning practice and she appears as the female tennis club's version of Horio, so the news was immediately spread throughout the campus.

Ryoma, who was sitting on his desk that day during lunch time, simply turned his head away and looked past the windows into the sky as he heard his seatmate gossiping about it with another girl. For him, that news was already outdated. Yep, outdated. Even though he only knew about it yesterday.

Again, he was the first one to know about what was really happening with Ryuzaki. He hated it but at the same time he wanted it, because that would mean that he was close enough with Ryuzaki to actually know something so personal about her. And the reason for her quitting. Yes, he was the only one who knew why.

Ryuzaki was bombarded with questions of course. But she answered each and one of them with the same, "I'm getting kind of tired these days…". What a pathetic lie. She would never get tired of tennis. Not in her life. He knew she loves tennis the same way he loves it.

. . .

But…

She doesn't love it enough to fight for it…

Her family's name came first.

And…

. . .

_Hirano._

That nutshell came first.

His amber eyes rolled back to the intriguing pigtailed girl, who was at that time, explaining to her curious friend (yet again) why she quitted a sport she so obviously loves.

He grunted. And then, his always-aware and sensitive eyes caught sight of a brown-haired pigtailed girl who was looking concernedly at Ryuzaki. Hn. Looks like Osakada was finally getting suspicious. Finally. She was being aware that something was wrong with Ryuzaki. As if it isn't obvious enough.

Osakada looked as if she was contemplating on whether to question her best friend about the truth or not. And she looked like she wanted to approach Ryuzaki so badly but couldn't due to the other students surrounding her.

"Yup. Actually, my arm's starting to hurt every time I play, so I thought that I should quit," Ryuzaki replied to the person she was talking to. What a stupid lie.

But then… why was she smiling…? Sure, it was her pretend-smile… but still… losing something important to you… you wouldn't be able to even force a smile, right? Why was Ryuzaki acting strong? Why was she smiling? She shouldn't be smiling… She was in… pain… She was…

Suffering.

Ryoma glared inwardly at a certain blue-eyed silver-haired dude Ryuzaki was going to marry in the future.

Hirano… was making her suffer. She's doing all of this for the sake of that guy who's probably just going to use her.

But what was worse?

He was _just _observing her from afar. He wasn't doing anything to help her… even though he's the only friend she had who knew all about it.

* * *

><p>"Wait for me," he said to the pigtailed girl as everyone was packing their things, ready to go home. The bell signaling dismissal already rang a few minutes ago, and as usual everyone was either preparing to go home, doing their cleaning duties, or attending their clubs.<p>

Sakuno looked at him confusedly. "Wait for you?" she repeated when she thought she heard wrong.

"You've no more tennis club to attend to. Instead of going home early, wait for me and we'll go home together," Ryoma said nonchalantly.

"Uhm…" Sakuno continued on eyeing him suspiciously. "Okay, I guess," she replied after thinking about it for a while.

Ryoma nodded once and slumped his tennis bag over his shoulders. He gestured for Sakuno to follow him and so she complied, strutting behind him a few steps away. They later arrived at the boys' tennis grounds, and everyone who was already present there hiked up when they saw Sakuno.

"Saku-chan!" Eiji said with a worried face as he approached his pigtailed kouhai. "I heard that you quitted tennis~ Is that true, nya?" he asked, mentally praying that she's replying in negative.

Sakuno smiled. She nodded her head. "Yes, it's true senpai. I'm done playing tennis."

"Why?" Eiji pressed on.

Sakuno turned her eyes away from Kikumaru and replied with her pretend-smile, "Well, I think I injured my arm. It's hurting every time I try to hit a ball. So…" she trailed off.

"Eh, really?" Eiji said with concern, but he looked as if he was hesitating in believing her. She had been playing fine days ago.

Sakuno nodded with another fake smile. Then, she turned to Ryoma with a knowing look. Ryoma eyed her for a few seconds before mentally replying that he understood what she wanted him to do.

"Is that buchou making the latecomers run laps around the court?" Ryoma suddenly said to his teammates nonchalantly as he pointed to another direction.

His regular teammates jumped in surprise and panicked as they ran back inside the courts, trying their best to hide from their fearless captain, not knowing that Ryoma was just tricking them.

Sakuno heaved a sigh of relief after her senpai-tachi ran off towards the tennis courts. She turned to Ryoma and smiled. "Thank you, Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma avoided her eyes and walked away, following after the other club members. "No prob. Just wait for me."

Sakuno nodded once and walked towards the bench beside the white board outside the courts. The club uses that white board whenever the coach is going to discuss important matters to them. She sat down on the bench and placed her bag on the ground.

She watched everyone as the afternoon practice commenced. While watching the team's display of impossible tennis, Sakuno's mind drifted off to her meeting with her fiancé last night. _Hirano Naoki—_asilver-haired teen the same age as her. Apparently, _Naoki-kun _had already taken an interest in her. He also seemed interested in ruining her life. _'That was rude… I shouldn't have thought of that…' _Sakuno scolded herself mentally.

"_Anou… Actually… I really don't like tennis. In fact, I hate it. Can you please quit the tennis club and playing tennis for good?" _Her mind still clearly remembered how Naoki-kun said it.

Naoki-kun made her quit tennis, a sport she had grown attached to.

Then again, it is also her fault for complying. She was really weak. She can't even protect something she loves. She was unhesitant in agreeing. But if Naoki really loves her, which was obvious he doesn't, then he would never even thought of making her quit.

Then, her mobile phone began vibrating in her pocket. She jumped up in surprise since she was in deep thought when it happened. She took out her phone from her pocket and found an unknown number calling her. She was curious to who was calling her so she answered it.

Meanwhile, while this was happening to Sakuno, she was unaware that Ryoma was discreetly watching her from his practice match. He spotted her flinching and panicking as her phone seemed to vibrate inside her pocket. She took a moment to stare at her phone—probably reading the screen to know who was calling her. He mentally smirked at her cuteness.

Wait… what?

He so did not thought that she was cute! Impossible!

He shook his head and focused on his game again, failing to see how Sakuno's face paled when she answered her phone.

"H-Hello?" Sakuno answered hesitantly. "Who's this?"

The person on the other end of the line smirked. "_Hey, Sakuno. It's your lover."_

Sakuno's face instantly paled. "N-Naoki-kun?"

She heard him chuckle a bit before replying, "_The one and only. Don't tell me you're expecting another lover to call you? Haha, just kidding. I know I'm your only one."_

Sakuno didn't know how to reply to that so she just remained quiet.

"_Anyway, I called because I was wondering if you're free right now."_

Sakuno breathed deeply as she tried to get back on character again. Naoki-kun knows her as a mature, elegant lady and so she must pretend to be that girl again. She replied, "Yes, Naoki-kun. I am free today. Is there something you want to do?"

"_Yeah, I want to—Wait. What is that I heard?"_

Sakuno was confused. She didn't know what Naoki was talking about. "Heard what?" she asked.

"_Tennis balls_," Naoki replied in a blank tone. "_Are you playing tennis? I thought you wouldn't play tennis again? You promised me."_

Sakuno panicked inside. So that's why. But she wasn't even playing! She's just watching her friends play tennis! "N-No! I-It's not like that! I've quit tennis club this morning! I'm only at the boys' tennis club right now!" she explained to him through frightened voice.

"_Ah. I see. I do remember hearing that your grandmother is the boys' tennis team coach. Are you waiting for Sumire-ba-chan?"_

Sakuno shook her head even though she knew he wouldn't see her. "No. I'm here because a friend of mine asked me to wait for him. He wanted to go home together."

She didn't know that Naoki's eyes darkened when she said that. She just continued, "Remember yesterday when I told you that I'm friends with one member of the boys' tennis team? Well, he's actually the one who asked me."

"_I see. Well then, I just called to say hi. Save my number okay? Bye," _with that, he hung up.

Sakuno had a feeling that Naoki's mood suddenly dropped because of the tone he used on his last words. She didn't know why though. Was it because he thought she was lying to him? She sighed in defeat and flipped her phone.

Oh wait… Naoki asked if she was free today. Maybe he wanted to ask her out. So then, why didn't he?

Sakuno just shrugged and put her phone back inside her pocket after saving her fiancé's number on her phone. She turned her head back to the courts and continued watching.

* * *

><p>"Let's go," Ryoma said after he approached Sakuno on the bench she was sitting on. Their afternoon practice had finally ended. It was the usual tiring and brutal training they go to everyday.<p>

Sakuno nodded with a small smile. She stood up, grabbed her bag and followed Ryoma out of their school.

They were currently walking on the sidewalk leading to the station. They were walking pretty slow and casual, as if both were making their moment together last. The sky was painted orange and gradually turns into purple at a distance. Their figures were both tinted with the same hue, and they both thought that the other looks stunning under the sunset.

The two weren't even speaking with each other but the silence was, no doubt, comfortable. They kept on walking, both feeling that they entered a different world wherein only the two of them exist. Every person who passed by them was faceless. Everyone but them.

The two freshmen simultaneously let out a gentle smile, although the boy's was a little less gentle than the girl's. They were feeling the same thing with each other at the moment; security and ease.

Then, at that moment of peace with each other, it was ruined by the sound of a car slowly stopping beside them. The two returned to their senses and they both turned their head to the side to see the backseat window of the car slowly opening. Both were curious to who this stranger was and what he wants with them.

Also, Ryoma thought that whoever was inside better had a good explanation for ruining their "moment". Not that he cares or anything.

"Hey," a voice very familiar to the two said from inside his car. The owner of the voice still had that same annoying silver hair and intimidating blue eyes.

"Naoki-kun? W-What are you doing here?" Sakuno asked and inwardly panicked. Why was he there right now? Bad timing. Her heart began beating rapidly, and every thought about her family and their reputation entered her mind. She needed to be 'elegant' again.

"I wanted to surprise you," Naoki said with an arrogant smirk. "I've decided to come visit you in your house today. I have yet to meet your grandmother. Come inside. I'll give you a ride home."

"N-Naoki-ku—"

"How did you know she was here _with me_?" Ryoma asked with an obvious glare directed to his friend's fiancé. He stepped in front of Sakuno to block Hirano's view of her.

Hirano simply smiled sympathetically, as if mocking the tennis prince. "I'm sorry. I have no idea you were here _with my fiancée. _I failed to notice you. Maybe because you blend into the commoner crowd really good."

Ryoma's glare intensified. "What?"

"Anyway, I need to go with my fiancée. We have a _date _you see," Hirano said. Sakuno was about to say something when Ryoma cut her off.

"No. We're going home together. Go home by yourself," Ryoma persisted as he grabbed Sakuno's wrist and began dragging her away. His steps were heavy, brows narrowed, and he was gripping Sakuno's wrist really tight.

"R-Ryoma-kun, wait!"

Hirano sighed as he knew that one way or another, he'll meet a stubborn guy who's probably attached to Sakuno and refrain him from being with his beloved. He stepped out of the car after his driver opened the backseat door for him. He caught up to Ryoma and Sakuno and stopped the two from walking away any further by grabbing Sakuno's other wrist. "Wait a minute here. I believe you do not have any rights on taking my beloved away from me especially when we are about to go somewhere together."

Ryoma stopped walking and turned his body around. His glare actually made Sakuno fearful of him once she saw it. It was as if he wasn't the Ryoma-kun she used to know. No one had ever seen him this mad before. Not even cheating tennis players made him this enraged before. "Ryoma-kun…?" she helplessly and weakly muttered as she continued staring at his fuming eyes.

"Ryuzaki is not your beloved. Fucking leave us alone," Ryoma hissed. Sakuno heart beat quicken. She was frightened. She didn't know this side of Ryoma. Worst of all, she doesn't know what she was supposed to do. If this continues, something bad might happen between the two boys.

"Look. Why don't we just let Sakuno-chan decide on who she'll go with," Naoki said with a blank face as he turned to Sakuno. Unlike the girl, he wasn't feeling intimidated by the tennis prince at all. In fact, he felt challenged. Both in a good and bad way.

Sakuno felt pressured as the two boys stare at her. But everyone knew what her answer is. She turned to Ryoma after she gathered the courage to look at his facial expression and smiled weakly. "I'm… sorry."

Ryoma's brow twitched. It was unfair. Hirano knew that Sakuno would definitely choose him because of their engagement and her inward proclamation that she'll become the best wife for him. His jaw tightened. It was irritating. How helpless he was. How he couldn't do anything for her. It was her choice.

Then he began realizing something again…

He had no right to butt in their business.

Slowly, but reluctantly, he let go of Sakuno's wrist. He stood there, unmoving, as he watched the two get inside Hirano's car, ignoring Hirano's victorious smirk and Sakuno's apologetic eyes. Right then, he knows what he was _supposed to do_. He knows what _he can do_.

But he _can't_ and he _shouldn't._

Because who was he in her life? He was just her classmate, her grandmother's student…

Nothing else.

Shadows covered his emotionless eyes. He knew that he was defeated. He can't just suddenly stomp towards them and drag Sakuno away from him. He can, but the three of them knew that he shouldn't.

He shouldn't because Ryuzaki was not his. She will never be.

He turned back around towards his path home and began walking away. He shouldn't be thinking of those unnecessary thoughts. Ryuzaki was just his friend. Nothing else. Shame on him for even thinking too possessively of her.

Hirano's car drove past him, and whilst they were parallel with each other, he saw it.

His eyes met Sakuno's eyes from inside the car. It was a mere second but he saw it clearly.

Her eyes were showing pain.

"Ryu… zaki…"

His fist clenched. He felt really weak. He was disappointed with himself.

* * *

><p>"Sakuno-chan~" Naoki leaned closer to Sakuno, his face several inches away from her face. "That Seigaku student was really rude to me… I don't like him. You shouldn't like him either~"<p>

Sakuno turned her head away to look at the window. She hesitantly replied with a weak, "I guess…"

"Is he really your friend? You should stop it. After all, he's just a moronic commoner who's probably never going to succeed in life," Naoki said confidently. He leaned away from Sakuno and relaxed himself. "He's just a useless person who's going to be an ol' boring businessman someday."

Sakuno's fist tightened. Hirano saw it and he smirked. "Sakuno-chan~ how about you? What do you think of him? You probably hate him now too because of how he behaved in front of me, your beloved."

She just nodded her head weakly.

"Hm? What was that?" Naoki asked again as he looked at Sakuno.

"I… y-you're right… I-I h-hate him…" Sakuno said in a sullen way.

Naoki suddenly added, "Oh! And your other friends too! Trust me, you won't need them. Sakuno-chan, you'll only need me."

Sakuno wanted to cry at that moment. She hates what this fiancé of hers is doing. It pains her to say those words. Her heart feels really heavy and guilty but then she also thought about her family matters; the relationship between the Ryuzakis and the Hiranos.

_They _owe everything to her fiancé's family.

Sakuno smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder. She said to him happily, "I know! I want to get away from all of them as soon as possible!"

* * *

><p>Ryoma noticed something peculiar the next few days after that incident. Whenever he tries to approach Ryuzaki, she'll just slowly, yet conspicuously, try to avoid him. There was the time that they've passed each other on the same hallway. He was about to ask her something when she suddenly muttered that she was in a hurry and ran away.<p>

He just concluded that it was Hirano's fault. It always is.

After all, the dots connected to the deceiving fiancé. Ryuzaki began avoiding him after he met Hirano personally. That spoiled brat must have told her to never speak to him again.

Hirano told her to quit tennis AND stop being his friend! What was that guy's problem? He's probably just jealous of his relationship with Ryuzaki; that's why he's trying to separate them! Well, that won't be a problem any time soon! He'll make sure that Hirano will pay someday—

"Ryoma… sama?"

Ryoma swiftly turned around, quite surprised at the sudden voice that interrupted him. He looked at Ryuzaki's best friend, and apparently, his number one fan: Osakada Tommy. Or was it Jerry? Tom & Jerry?

"What is it? Jerry?" Ryoma asked as he regained his composure.

Osakada pouted. "Mou~ Ryoma-sama! How could you just forget about my name like that? We've known each other since first year middle school~" she whined as she placed her hands in her hips and glared at him in a friendly way.

"Oh yeah right. You're Tom," Ryoma replied with a blank face and was about to go back to his class when Tom stopped him.

"Wait, Ryoma-sama!" Tom gripped Ryoma's right arm and stopped him from going any farther.

"My name is Tomoka and do you know something about Sakuno?" she asked desperately.

Oh that's right. It's _Tomoka._ Wait… what?

"Something about Ryuzaki?" he repeated as he fully turned towards her again.

She nodded once and let go of her grip on his arm. She looked betrayed and saddened at the same time. She lowered her head as she spoke, "Sakuno is acting really strange. We haven't hung out in days. She just keeps on telling me that she was meeting someone else and just walks away." Tomo raised her head again to look at him. "Ryoma-sama, I believe you know something about what is _really _going on. Please tell me," she leaned closer to him as she begged in desperation, "I'm scared. Is Sakuno mad at me? Did I do something to upset her?"

Ryoma stared at her, debating with himself whether if he should tell her the truth or not. He most likely won't though, given that he promised Ryuzaki that he'll keep his mouth zipped. And so, he avoided her question. "What makes you think that I know something?"

"You and Sakuno were hanging out these past few days!" she almost yelled. "Or wait… are you two dating?"

"No," he instantly replied blankly.

"THEN WHY?" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" he told her, thinking that Ryuzaki really wanted to talk to her about it but finds herself unable to do so.

Tomo reverted back to her calm self. "But that's the problem… She won't even say hi to me… JUST TELL ME IF I DID SOMETHING WRONG!" she yelled once more.

"Ask her," Ryoma replied and left.

Tomo stared at his disappearing figure. She lowered her head in defeat. She weakly muttered her friend's name with complete worry and sadness. "Sakuno…"

* * *

><p>It's not Osakada's fault. It's not his' either. There's only one person responsible for hurting Ryuzaki like that, and that person is her own future—dare he say it (again)—husband.<p>

And both of them couldn't do anything about it.

He sighed to himself. Well, maybe Osakada could do something about it, but he can't. And he doesn't know why.

Is he a coward?

Augh. He shouldn't ask that. Seeing what he's doing to help Ryuzaki right now, which is absolutely and completely nothing, he is as a matter of fact a coward.

"Then let's change that, shall we?" he muttered as he lied down on his bed.

To be continued.

* * *

><p>AN: There you have it; the 3rd chapter! And Ryoma is finally going to make a move! But will he make it? Find out!

BTW, I sincerely apologize for the late update… Well as my excuse, I'm graduating next year (March 2013) so it's been pretty busy. I was also out looking for companies that are accepting internships. Soon, I'm going to "the real world". And I also have a feeling that soon, I'm going to "retire" from fanfiction-dot-net.

Or maybe not XD Who knows? But I do sure hope not! Anyways, a review would be nice :D Sorry for the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Feel free to point them out so that I will improve:D

Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi


	4. Chapter 4

It's official. I will be on a very, very, very long hiatus in writing fanfictions due to excessive and utterly unreasonable amount of work to be done for my thesis (and my losing interest in the fandom). I will not be able to update ANY ON-GOING STORIES in the PoT fandom. I deeply apologize for not being able to update, considering that I absolutely love writing stories.

For now, I am not sure if I'll return in writing fanfictions in Prince of Tennis. I am not sure if I will only be on a hiatus or if I'm going to officially retire. If, in an occasion, I have been inactive for 2 years after reading this note (that means the date must be July 13, 2014), you can adopt an on-going Prince of Tennis fic of mine **given that you pm me about it**. It also means that I have retired from writing here and will not post any stories anymore.

Take note: I will still be reading fanfictions from time to time. I just won't be able to write fics for a long, long time. I'm most likely in the Gintama Fandom by now...

Thank you for your time in reading this... So now, please don't hurt me XDD

~Goodbye?


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